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Educational  Publication  No.  80  Division  of  Publication  No.  16 


NEW  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 


ENACTED    BY    THE 


GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


EXTRA  SESSION  1924 


published  by  the 

State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Condemnation  of  school  sites  in  Special  Charter  Districts   (Section  1) 3 

Condemnation  of  school  sites  (the  amended  section,  complete) 4 

County-wide  Plan  amended  (section  73-a)    (section  2) 3 

Section  73-a,  as  amended  (complete)  5 

Bond  law  amended   (section  3) 3 

Bond  law  amended  (bonds  in  special  charter  districts)    (sections  4,  5) 4 

Amended  sections  of  the  bond  law  (complete) 7 

Treasurer's  commission  on  State  loan  funds  and  bond  issues  (section  6)....     4 

Section  3910  of  the  Consolidated  Statutes,  as  amended  (complete) 8 

School  building  bonds  without  a  vote  of  the  people  (section  1) 9 

Vocational  Rehabilitation  work  continued    (section  1) 9 

An  act  for  the  appointment  of  an  Educational  Finance  Commission 10 

Personel  of  the  Educational  Finance  Commission 11 

Districts  formed  from  two  or  more  counties  (section  232,  amended) 11 


NEW  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

ENACTED  BY  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY 
IN  EXTRAORDINARY  SESSION,  1924 


AN  ACT  TO  AMEND  CERTAIN  SECTIONS  OF  CHAPTER  ONE  HUN- 
DRED AND  THIRTY-SIX,  PUBLIC  LAWS  OF  ONE  THOUSAND  NINE 
HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY-THREE,  AND  SECTION  THREE  THOUS- 
AND NINE  HUNDRED  AND  TEN  OF  THE  CONSOLIDATED  STAT- 
UTES  (H.  B.  179,  S.  B.  353). 

The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  That  section  sixty-one  of  chapter  one  hundred  and  thirty-six, 
Public  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-three,  be  amended  by 
inserting  in  line  two  thereof  after  the  word  "education"  and  before  the  word 
"may"  the  words,  "or  board  of  trustees  of  any  special  charter  district";  and 
that  said  section  be  further  amended  by  substituting  the  words  "any  such 
board"  in  lieu  of  the  word  "the"  in  line  four  between  the  words  "whenever" 
and  "board,"  and  that  said  section  be  further  amended  by  inserting  between 
line  seventeen  and  line  eighteen  the  words  "or,  if  a  charter  district,  upon  the 
treasurer  of  such  charter  district." 

Sec  2.  That  section  seventy-three  (a)  of  said  chapter  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  be  and  is  hereby  amended  by  adding  at  the  end  of  sub-section  two 
of  said  section  seventy-three  (a)  the  words:  "The  meeting  required  to  be 
held  before  the  adoption  of  the  county-wide  plan  shall  be  called,  and  the 
notification  required  to  be  given  of  a  contemplated  modification  or  change  of 
an  adopted  plan  shall  be  given,  by  publication  once,  at  least  ten  days  before 
the  meeting  or  the  hearing,  in  a  newspaper  published  at  the  county  seat,  of  a 
notice  addressed  to  those  affected  thereby,  giving  the  hour  and  day  and  place 
of  the  meeting  or  the  hearing  and  the  purpose  thereof,  and  by  the  mailing  to 
or  serving  of  like  notices  upon  all  committeemen  and  trustees. 

If  no  newspaper  be  published  in  the  county  seat,  such  notice  shall  be  posted 
at  the  courthouse  door  and  at  a  public  place  in  each  township  in  the  county 
ten  days  prior  to  such  meeting. 

No  adoption  or  amendment  of  such  plan  shall  be  held  invalid  or  ineffectual 
because  of  any  failure  to  comply  with  the  requirement  hereof  as  to  the  mail- 
ing or  service  of  notice. 

Sec.  3.  That  section  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  of  said  chapter  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-six  be  and  is  hereby  amended  by  adding  at  the  end  of  said 
section  the  words:  "The  notice  of  election  shall  set  forth  the  boundaries  of 
the  district,  unless  the  district  is  coterminous  with  a  county,  city,  town,  or 
township,  or  is  coterminous  with  a  county  or  township  except  that  it  does 
not  include  a  city,  town,  or  township,  in  such  county  or  township,  and  the 
notice  shall  set  forth  either  the  amount  or  the  maximum  amount  of  bonds 
proposed  to  be  issued." 

3 


Sec.  4.  That  section  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  of  said  chapter  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-six  be  and  is  hereby  amended  by  changing  the  period  at  the 
end  of  subsection  (a)  thereof  to  a  comma,  and  by  adding  the  words,  "and 
said  bonds  shall  be  sold  by  the  principal  governing  body  of  such  city  or  town, 
and  signed  and  sealed  as  may  be  directed  by  the  principal  governing  body, 
and  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  sale  of  such  bonds  shall  be  turned  over  to 
the  custodian  of  funds  of  such  special  charter  district,  who  shall  receive  no 
commission  for  the  handling  of  such  proceeds. 

Sec.  5.  That  said  section  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  of  said  chapter  one 
hundred  and  thirty-six  be  and  is  hereby  further  amended  by  striking  out  all 
of  subsection  (b)  of  said  section  two  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  by  insert- 
ing in  lieu  thereof  the  following: 

"Subsection  (b).  In  the  case  of  all  special  charter  districts  not  described 
in  subsection  (a)  of  this  section  the  petition  for  the  election  shall  be  made 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees  to  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners,  which  Board 
shall  call,  hold,  and  determine  the  result  of  the  election  as  provided  in  this 
article,  and  the  bonds  shall  be  sold  and  issued  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  the 
name  of  the  district  and  shall  be  signed  and  sealed  as  may  be  provided  by 
said  Board  of  Trustees,  and  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  sale  of  such  bonds 
shall  be  turned  over  to  the  custodian  of  funds  of  such  special  charter  district, 
who  shall  receive  no  commission  for  the  handling  of  such  proceeds:  Provided, 
however,  that  in  districts  of  the  kind  described  in  this  subsection,  in  which 
special  school  taxes  are  now  levied  by  the  principal  governing  body  of  a  city 
or  town  situated  within  the  district,  the  powers  and  duties  conferred  by  this 
article  on  Boards  of  County  Commissioners  shall  be  exercised  and  performed 
by  said  principal  governing  body:  Provided  further,  that  in  districts  of  the 
kind  described  in  the  subsection  which  lie  in  two  or  more  counties',  no  peti- 
tion shall  be  necessary,  and  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  district  shall  call, 
hold  and  determine  the  result  of  the  election. 

Sec.  6.  That  section  three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ten  of  the  Consoli- 
dated Statutes  be  amended  by  inserting  in  line  thirteen,  after  the  word  "fund" 
and  before  the  word  "for,"  the  words,  "the  special  building  fund,  nor  from 
funds  derived  from  county  or  district  bond  issues." 

Sec.  7.  That  all  laws  and  clauses  of  laws  in  conflict  with  this  act  are 
hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  8.  This  act  shall  be  in  full  force  and  effect  from  and  after  its  ratifi- 
cation. 

Ratified  this  the  23d  day  of  August,  1924. 


CONDEMNATION  OF  SCHOOL  SITES    (Section  61  as  amended*) 

Sec.  61.  How  to  secure  suitable  sites.  The  county  board  of  education  or 
board  of  trustees  of  any  special  charter  district  may  receive  by  gift  or  by  pur- 
chase suitable  sites  for  schoolhouses  or  other  school  buildings.  But  when- 
ever any  such  board  is  unable  to  obtain  a  suitable  site  for  a  school  or  school 
building  by  gift  or  purchase,  the  board  shall  report  to  the  county  superintend- 
ent of  public  instruction,  who  shall,  upon  five  days  notice  to  the  owner  or 


*Amendments  are  printed  in  italics. 


owners  of  the  land,  apply  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the  county  in 
which  the  land  is  situated  for  the  appointment  of  three  appraisers,  who  shall 
lay  off  by  metes  and  bounds  not  more  than  ten  acres,  and  shall  assess  the 
value  thereof.  They  shall  make  a  written  report  of  their  proceedings,  to  be 
signed  by  them,  or  by  a  majority  of  them,  to  the  clerk  within  five  days  of 
their  appointment,  who  shall  enter  the  same  upon,  the  records  of  the  court. 
The  appraisers  and  officers  shall  serve  without  compensation.  If  the  report 
is  confirmed  by  the  clerk,  the  chairman  and  the  secretary  of  the  board  shall 
issue  an  order  on  the  treasurer  of  the  county  school  fund,  or,  if  a  charter 
district,  upon  the  treasurer  of  such  charter  district,  in  favor  of  the  owner  of 
the  land  thus  laid  off,  and  upon  the  payment,  or  offer  of  payment,  of  this 
order,  the  title  to  such  land  shall  vest  in  fee  simple  in  the  corporation.  Any 
person  aggrieved  by  the  action  of  the  appraisers  may  appeal  to  the  Superior 
Court  in  term,  upon  giving  bond  to  secure  the  board  against  such  costs  as 
may  be  incurred  on  account  of  the  appeal  not  being  prosecuted  with  effect.  If 
the  lands  sought  to  be  condemned  hereunder,  or  any  part  of  said  lands,  shall 
be  owned  by  a  nonresident  of  the  State,  before  the  clerk  shall  appoint  apprais- 
ers therefor,  notice  to  such  nonresident  owners  shall  be  given  of  such  pro- 
ceedings to  condemn,  by  publication  for  thirty  days  in  some  newspaper  pub- 
lished in  the  county,  and  if  no  newspaper  is  published  in  the  county,  then  by 
posting  such  notice  at  the  courthouse  door  and  three  other  public  places  in 
the  county  for  the  period  of  thirty  days. 

C.  S.,  5416  ;  1923,  c.  136,  s.  61  ;  Extra  Session  1924,  H.  B.   179,  S.  B.  353,  s.   1. 


THE  COUNTY- WIDE  PLAN    (Section  73-a  as  amended) 

Sec.  73-a.  County-wide  plan  of  organization.  The  county  board  of  educa- 
tion shall  create  no  new  district  nor  shall  it  divide  or  abolish  a  district,  nor 
shall  it  consolidate  districts  or  parts  of  districts,  except  in  accordance  with  a 
county-wide  plan  of  organization  as  follows: 

1.  The  county  board  of  education  shall  present  a  diagram  or  map  of  the 
county  showing  the  present  location  of  each  district,  the  position  of  each,  the 
location  of  roads,  streams  and  other  natural  barriers,  the  number  of  children 
in  each  district,  the  size  and  condition  of  each  school  building  in  each  dis- 
trict. The  county  board  of  education  shall  then  prepare  a  county-wide  plan 
for  the  organization  of  all  the  schools  of  the  county.  This  plan  shall  indicate 
the  proposed  changes  to  be  made  and  how  districts  or  parts  of  districts  are 
proposed  to  be  consolidated  so  as  to  work  out  a  more  advantageous  school 
system  for  the  entire  county. 

2.  Before  adopting  the  county-wide  plan,  the  county  board  of  education 
shall  call  a  meeting  of  all  the  school  committeemen  and  the  boards  of  trustees 
and  lay  the  proposed  plan  before  them  for  their  advice  and  suggestions.  After 
receiving  the  advice  of  the  committeemen  and  trustees,  the  county  board  of 
education  shall  have  authority  to  adopt  a  county-wide  plan  of  organization, 
and  no  districts  or  parts  of  any  district,  including  non-local  tax,  local  tax,  and 
special  charter  districts  hereafter  referred  to  in  this  article,  shall  be  consoli- 
dated or  the  boundary  lines  changed,  unless  the  consolidation  or  the  change 
of  boundary  lines  is  in  accordance  with  the  adopted  county-wide  plan  of 
organization:  Provided,  that  in  the  event  the  county  board  of  education  deems 


it  wise  to  modify  or  change  the  adopted  plan,  the  board  shall  notify  the  com- 
mitteemen and  interested  patrons  and  give  them  a  hearing  if  they  desire  to 
be  heard  before  any  changes  shall  be  made. 

The  meeting  required  to  be  held  before  the  adoption  of  the  county-wide  plan 
shall  be  called,  and  the  notification  required  to  be  given  of  a  contemplated 
modification  or  change  of  an  adopted  plan  shall  be  given,  by  publication  once, 
at  least  ten  days  before  the  meeting  or  the  hearing,  in  a  newspaper  published 
at  the  county  seat,  of  a  notice  addressed  to  those  affected  therby,  giving  the 
hour  and  day  and  place  of  the  meeting  or  the  hearing  and  the  purpose  thereof, 
and  by  the  mailing  to  or  serving  of  like  notices  upon  all  committeemen  and 
trustees. 

If  no  newspaper  be  published  in  the-  county  seat,  such  notice  shall  be  posted 
at  the  courthouse  door  and  at  a  public  place  in  each  township  in  the  county 
ten  days  prior  to  such  meeting. 

No  adoption  or  amendment  of  such  plan  shall  be  held  invalid  or  ineffectual 
because  of  any  failure  to  comply  with  the  requirement  hereof  as  to  the  mail- 
ing or  service  of  notice. 

3.  The  county  board  of  education  shall  have  authority  to  execute  the  en- 
tire plan  or  any  part  of  the  same,  but  the  county  board  of  education  shall 
have  no  authority  to  create  a  debt  for  the  execution  of  any  part  of  the  pro- 
posed plan,  unless  authorized  by  law,  and  if  the  amount  necessary  to  put  into 
operation  all  or  any  part  of  said  plan  shall  be  greater  than  the  amount  that 
may  be  reasonably  expected  from  the  Operating  and  Equipment  Fund  for  this 
purpose,  the  amount  shall  be  guaranteed  by  the  districts  affected  by  the  exe- 
cution of  the  plan,  or  if  the  districts  do  not  guarantee  the  funds  the  county 
board  of  education  shall  lay  the  proposed  plan  before  the  county  commis- 
sioners, together  with  the  estimated  amount  necessary  to  put  the  same  into 
operation,  and  if  the  amount  necessary  to  carry  out  all  or  any  part  of  the 
proposed  plan  shall  be  approved  by  the  county  commissioners,  the  county 
board  of  education  shall  then  have  the  authority  to  organize  the  districts  in 
accordance  with  the  county-wide  plan. 

4.  When  the  proposed  county-wide  plan  is  adopted  the  county  board  shall 
notify  the  committeemen  and  boards  of  trustees  as  to  what  part  of  the  plan 
the  board  proposes  to  carry  out  first  and  in  what  order  the  other  parts  of  the 
plan  will  be  considered,  and  the  preference  shall  be  given  to  those  districts  in 
which  the  needs  are  greatest  if  the  funds  for  providing  the  equipment  are 
made  available. 

5.  In  the  event  that  any  child  or  children  of  any  district  or  any  part  of  a 
district  are  without  adequate  school  advantages  and  these  advantages  may  be 
improved  by  transferring  said  child  or  children  to  a  school  or  schools  in  ad- 
joining districts,  the  county  board  shall  have  authority  to  make  such  a  trans- 
fer. But  this  shall  not  empower  the  county  board  of  education  to  abolish  or 
divide  a  district  unless  such  act  shall  be  in  harmony  with  the  county-wide 
plan  of  organization.  The  temporary  transfer  of  such  child  or  children  may 
be  made  until  such  time  as  the  county-wide  plan  will  provide  more  advantage- 
ously for  them. 

1923,  _c.  136,  s.  73-a;  Extra  Session  1924,  H.  B.   179,  S.   B.   353,  s.  2. 


BOND  ELECTIONS  (Section  257  as  amended) 

Sec.  257.  Elections;  how  called.  Whenever  the  county  board  of  education 
shall  so  petition,  the  board  of  county  commissioners  of  any  county  shall  order 
a  special  election  to  be  held  in  any  county  or  special  school-taxing  district,  or 
in  any  local-tax  district  within  which  a  union  school  is  maintained,  for  the 
purpose  of  voting  upon  the  question  of  issuing  bonds  and  levying  a  sufficient 
tax  for  the  payment  thereof  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring,  erecting,  enlarging, 
altering  and  equipping  school  buildings  and  purchasing  sites  in  such  county 
or  district,  or  for  any  one  or  more  of  said  purposes.  Said  election  shall  be 
called  and  held  under  the  same  rules  and  regulations  as  provided  in  this  act 
for  "Local  Tax  Elections  for  Schools"  (Article  17.)  The  ballots  to  be  used  in 
said  election  shall  have  written  or  printed  thereon  the  words  "For  the  issu- 
ance of  $ school  bonds  and  the  levying  of  a  tax  for  the  payment 

thereof,"  and  "Against  issuance  of  $ school  bonds  and  the  levying 

of  a  tax  for  the  payment  thereof."  The  notice  of  election  shall  set  forth  the 
boundaries  of  the  district,  unless  the  district  is  coterminous  with  a  county, 
city,  toicn,  or  township,  or  is  coterminous  icith  a  county  or  township  except 
that  it  does  not  include  a  city,  town,  or  township,  in  such  county  or  township, 
and  the  notice  shall  set  forth  either  the  amount  or  the  maximum  amount  of 
bonds  proposed  to  be  issued. 

1923,  c.  136,  s.  257  ;  Extra  Session  1924,  H.  B.   179,  S.   B.  353,  s.  3. 


BOND  ELECTIONS  IN  CITIES  (Section  263  as  amended) 

Sec.  263.  Bonds  in  special  charter  districts.  Elections  may  be  held  in 
special  charter  districts  and  bonds  issued  and  taxes  levied  to  pay  the  same 
in  the  manner  provided  by  the  previous  sections  of  this  article,  except  as 
otherwise  provided  in  this  section. 

Subsection  (a).  In  the  case  of  every  special  charter  district  coterminous 
with  an  incorporated  city  or  town  having  authority  by  virtue  of  its  charter, 
or  other  special  or  local  laws,  to  maintain  a  system  of  schools,  the  petition  for 
the  election  shall  be  made  to  the  principal  governing  body  of  each  city  or 
town  by  the  board  of  trustees,  unless  said  board  is  the  principal  governing 
body  of  said  city  or  town,  in  which  case  no  petition  shall  be  necessary.  But 
said  principal  governing  body  may,  in  its  discretion,  grant  or  refuse  said 
petition.  In  every  special  charter  district  of  the  kind  described  in  this  sub- 
section, all  powers  and  duties  conferred  or  imposed  by  this  article  on  boards 
of  county  commissioners  shall  be  exercised  and  performed  by  the  principal 
governing  body  of  said  city  or  town  with  which  the  district  is  coterminous, 
and  the  bonds  shall  be  issued  in  the  corporate  name  of  each  city  or  town,  and 
said  bonds  shall  be  sold  by  the  principal  governing  body  of  such  city  or  town, 
and  signed  and  sealed  as  may  be  directed  by  the  principal  governing  body, 
and  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  sale  of  such  bonds  shall  be  turned  over  to 
the  custodian  of  funds  of  such  special  charter  district,  who  shall  receive  no 
commission  for  the  handling  of  such  proceeds. 

Subsection  (b).  In  the  case  of  all  special  charter  districts  not  described 
in  subsection  (a)  of  this  section  the  petition  for  the  election  shall  be  made  by 
the  board  of  trustees  to  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  which  board 
shall  call,  hold  and  determine  the  result  of  the  election  as  provided  in  this 


article,  and  the  bonds  shall  be  sold  and  issued  by  the  board  of  trustees  in  the 
name  of  the  district  and  shall  be  signed  and  sealed  as  may  b&  provided  by 
said  board  of  trustees,  and  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  sale  of  such  bonds 
shall  be  turned  over  to  the  custodian  of  funds  of  such  special  charter  district, 
who  shall  receive,  no  commission  for  the  handling  of  such  proceeds:  Pro- 
vided, however,  that  in  districts  of  the  kind  described  in  this  subsection,  in 
which  special  school  taxes  are  now  levied  by  the  principal  governing  body  of 
a  city  or  town  situated  within  the  district,  the  powers  and  duties  conferred  by 
this  article,  on  boards  of  county  commissioners  shall  be  exercised  and  per- 
formed by  said  principal  governing  body:  Provided  further,  that  in  districts 
of  the  kind  described  in  the  subsection  which  lie  in  Uvo  or  more  counties,  no 
petition  shall  be  necessary,  and  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  district  shall  call, 
hold  and  determine  the  result  of  the  election. 

1923,  c.  136,  s.  263  ;  Extra  Session  1924  ;  H.  B.  179,  S.  B.  353,  ss.  4,  5. 


TREASURER'S  COMMISSION   (Section  3910,  C.  S.  as  amended) 

3910.  County  treasurer.  The  county  treasurer  shall  receive  as  compen- 
sation in  full  for  all  services  required  of  him  such  a  sum  not  exceeding  one- 
half  of  one  percent  on  moneys  received  and  not  exceeding  two  and  a  half 
percent  on  moneys  disbursed  by  him,  as  the  board  of  commissioners  of  the 
county  may  allow.  As  treasurer  of  the  county  school  fund  he  shall  receive 
such  sum  as  the  board  of  education  may  allow  him,  not  exceeding  two  per- 
cent on  disbursements;  and  the  said  commissions  shall  be  paid  only  upon  the 
order  of  the  county  board  of  education,  signed  by  the  chairman  and  secretary, 
and  the  county  board  of  education  is  hereby  forbidden  to  sign  any  such  order 
until  the  treasurer  shall  have  made  all  reports  and  kept  all  such  accounts 
required  by  law  in  the  form  and  manner  prescribed:  Provided,  that  said 
treasurer  shall  be  allowed  no  commission  or  compensation  for  receipts  and 
disbursements  of  any  loan  or  loans  made  to  the  county  by  the  state  board  of 
education  out  of  the  state  literary  fund,  the  special  building  fund,  nor  from 
funds  derived  from  county  or  district  bond  issues,  for  the  building  of  school 
houses:  Provided,  that  in  counties  where  the  treasurer's  total  compensation 
cannot  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  annum  the  treasurer  may  be 
allowed,  in  the  discretion  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners  and  the  board 
of  education,  as  to  the  school  fund,  a  sum  not  exceeding  two  and  one-half 
percent  on  his  disbursements  of  all  funds  handled  by  him;  but  the  compensa- 
tion allowed  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  this  last  proviso  shall  not  be 
operative  to  give  a  total  compensation  in  excess  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  annum  to  such  treasurers. 

C.  S.  3910;  Rev.,  s.  2778;  Code,  s.  770;  1899,  c.  233;  1909,  c.  577;  1913,  c.  144;  1919,  c. 
254.  s.  9  ;  Extra  Session   1924,  H.  B.   179,  S.   B.   353,  s.   6. 


AN  ACT  TO  AMEND  CHAPTER  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY-SIX, 
ARTICLE  TWENTY-THREE,  PUBLIC  LAWS  OF  NINETEEN  HUN- 
DRED AND  TWENTY-THREE    (H.  B.  524,  S.  B.  321). 

The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  That  after  section  two  hundred  and  seventy,  article  twenty- 
three,  chapter  one  hundred  and  thirty-six,  Public  Laws  nineteen  hundred  and 
twenty-three,  be  added  section  two  hundred  and  seventy-one,  as  follows: 

That  whenever  the  county  board  of  education  of  any  county  shall  petition 
the  county  commissioners  of  said  county  that  it  is  necessary  in  order  to  pro- 
vide a  building  or  buildings  to  carry  on  a  six  months  school  in  their  county, 
and  the  location  and  plans  for  such  building  or  buildings  as  proposed  has  been 
approved  by  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  the  county  com- 
missioners may,  in  their  discretion,  without  submitting  the  issue  to  a  vote  of 
the  people,  borrow  such  sum  of  money  as  may  in  their  judgment  be  necessary 
to  erect  or  repair  such  building  or  buildings,  and  the  commissioners  are  em- 
powered and  authorized  to  issue  serial  notes  of  the  county  or  serial  bonds  of 
the  county,  as  provided  for  in  section  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  and  section  two 
hundred  and  sixty-seven,  article  twenty-three,  chapter  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
six,  Public  Laws  of  nineteen  hundred  and  twenty-three:  Provided,  this  act 
shall  not  apply  to  the  following  counties:  Alamance,  Alexander,  Alleghany, 
Anson,  Ashe,  Avery,  Beaufort,  Bertie,  Bladen,  Brunswick,  Buncombe,  Burke,  Ca- 
barrus, Camden,  Carteret,  Caswell,  Catawba,  Chatham,  Cherokee,  Chowan, 
Clay,  Columbus,  Craven,  Cumberland,  Currituck,  Dare,  Davidson,  Davie,  Duplin, 
Durham,  Edgecombe,  Franklin,  Gaston,  Gates,  Graham,  Granville,  Greene, 
Guilford,  Halifax,  Harnett,  Haywood,  Henderson,  Hertford,  Hoke,  Hyde,  Ire- 
dell, Jackson,  Johnston,  Jones,  Lee,  Lenoir,  Lincoln,  Macon,  Madison,  Martin, 
McDowell,  Mecklenburg,  Mitchell,  Montgomery,  Moore,  Nash,  New  Hanover, 
Northampton,  Onslow,  Orange,  Pamlico,  Pasquotank,  Pender,  Perquimans, 
Person,  Pitt,  Polk,  Randolph,  Richmond,  Roberson,  Rockingham,  Rowan, 
Rutherford,  Sampson,  Scotland,  Stanly,  Stokes,  Surry,  Swain,  Transylvania, 
Tyrrell,  Union,  Vance,  Wake,  Warren,  Washington,  Watauga,  Wayne,  Wilkes, 
Wilson,  Yadkin,  Yancey. 

Sec.  2.     This  act  shall  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  ratification. 

Ratified  this  the  23d  day  of  August,  1924. 

Caldwell,  Cleveland,  and  Forsyth  are  the  only  counties  not  exempted 
from  the  provisions  of  the  above  act. 


AN  ACT  TO  AUTHORIZE  THE  STATE  BOARD  FOR  VOCATIONAL 
EDUCATION  TO  CONTINUE  ITS  WORK  IN  VOCATIONAL  REHABIL- 
ITATION (H.  B.  28,  S.  B.  60). 

Whereas,  section  317,  chapter  136,  Public  Laws  of  1923,  makes  an  appropria- 
tion out  of  the  public  school  fund  for  vocational  rehabilitation  contingent 
upon  an  appropriation  from  the  Federal  Government  of  a  like  amount;  and 

Whereas,  the  Sixty-eighth  Federal  Congress  in  its  first  session  passed  an 
act  authorizing  the  continuance  of  vocational  rehabilitation;    and 

Whereas  the  general  deficiency  appropriation  bill,  containing  the  appro- 
priation for  this  work  failed  to  pass  in  the  said  session  of  the  Federal 
Congress:   Therefore, 

9 


The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  That  the  State  Board  for  Vocational  Education  is  hereby 
authorized  to  continue  its  work  in  the  division  of  vocational  rehabilitation 
from  the  contingent  funds  heretofore  appropriated  out  of  the  public  school 
fund  for  this  purpose:  Provided,  this  work  shall  not  be  continued  beyond 
March  4,  1925,  unless  the  appropriation  from  the  Federal  Government  is 
made  available  prior  to  said  date;  and,  Provided  further,  that  the  State 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  may  not  exceed  the  amount  set  aside  from 
State  funds  for  this  purpose. 

Sec.  2.  That  this  act  shall  be  in  full  force  and  effect  from  and  after  its 
ratification. 

Ratified  this  the  14th  day  of  August,  1924. 


AN  ACT  FOR  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  AN   EDUCATIONAL  FINANCE 
COMMISSION   (H.  B.  29,  S.  B.  47). 

The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  That  an  educational  finance  commission,  consisting  of  seven 
members,  composed  of  four  members,  one  of  whom  shall  be  a  land-owning 
farmer,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House  and  three,  one  of 
whom  shall  be  a  land-owning  farmer,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  of 
the  Senate,  is  hereby  created,  which  commission  shall  assemble  in  the  city 
of  Raleigh  at  the  call  of  the  Governor  and  organize  by  electing  one  of  their 
number  chairman  and  another  secretary.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  this  com- 
mission to  study  the  methods  of  financing  public  education  in  North  Caro- 
lina at  this  time  and  to  suggest  to  the  next  session  of  the  General  Assembly 
ways  and  means  whereby  the  cost  of  education  may  be  more  equitably  dis- 
tributed, to  the  end  that  the  efficiency  of  the  public  school  system  in  North 
Carolina  may  be  increased. 

Sec.  2.  The  said  commission  shall  have  authority  to  call  to  their  assis- 
tance any  public  officer  of  the  State,  except  the  Governor,  and  any  public 
officer  of  any  county  of  the  State,  and  any  citizen  of  the  State  who  may 
have  appropriate  information.  The  said  commission  has  the  further  au- 
thority to  cause  to  be  displayed  before  them  all  official  records  bearing  on 
public  education  in  any  department  of  State,  and  the  official  school  records 
of  any  county  or  city  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  or  any  other  official 
information  relating  to  public  education  that  may  be  in  the  possession  of 
any  public  official. 

Sec.  3.  The  said  commission  is  hereby  further  authorized,  if  it  deem  wise, 
to  study  the  methods  of  financing  public  education  in  other  States  either 
by  visiting  other  States  or  calling  to  its  assistance  citizens  of  other  States, 
at  such  compensation  as  may  be  determined  by  the  commission:  Provided, 
that  the  entire  cost  of  this  part  of  the  commission's  investigation  shall  not 
exceed  one  thousand  and  five  hundred  dollars    ($1,500.00). 

Sec.  4.  The  said  commission  shall  make  a  report  of  its  findings  and  rec- 
ommendations to  the  General  Assembly  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
twenty-five  five  days  after  the  convening  thereof.  The  report  shall  be 
printed  and  distributed  to  all  State  officials  and  to  all  county  and  city  school 
officials  within   the    State   of  North   Carolina.      Said   commission    is   hereby 

10 


authorized  to  have  all  printing  necessary  for  carrying  out  the  purpose  of 
this  act  done  by  the  public  printer  as  all  public  printing  is  done. 

Sec.  5.  Said  commission  is  authorized  to  employ  such  clerical  assistance 
as  may  be  needed  and  fix  the  compensation,  and  the  action  of  the  commis- 
sion shall  be  conclusive. 

Sec.  6.  Each  member  of  the  commission  shall  be  paid  ten  dollars  ($10.00) 
per  day  and  expenses  during  the  time  in  which  they  are  engaged  upon  their 
duties. 

Sec.  7.  The  chairman  and  secretary  shall  issue  vouchers  for  the  payment 
of  the  expenses  of  the  commission  to  the  State  Auditor,  who  shall  cause 
the  same  to  be  paid  according  to  law. 

Sec.  8.  That  this  act  shall  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  ratification. 

Ratified  this  the  21st  day  of  August,  1924. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  EDUCATIONAL  FINANCE  COMMISSION 

Walter  H.  Woodson - Salisbury 

Emmet  Bellamy   Wilmington 

Robt.    T.    Wilson. Yancey ville 

N.    A.    Townsend - Dunn 

T.    C.    Bowie Jefferson 

Clayton   Moore Williamston 

C.  P.  Rogers East  Flat  Rock 


AN  ACT  TO  AMEND  SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY-TWO  OF 
CHAPTER  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY-SIX  OF  THE  PUBLIC 
LAWS  OF  ONE  THOUSAND  NINE  HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY-THREE, 
RELATING  TO  LOCAL  TAX  DISTRICTS  FORMED  FROM  PORTIONS 
OF  CONTIGUOUS  COUNTIES   (H.  B.  355,  S.  B.  118). 

The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  That  section  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  of  chapter  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-six,  Public  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty- 
three,  be  repealed  and  that  the  following  be  substituted  in  lieu  thereof: 

"Sec.  232.     Local  tax  districts  froni  portions  of  contiguous  counties. 

a.  Local  tax  districts  may  be  formed  as  provided  in  this  section  out  of 
contiguous  portions  of  two  or  more  counties. 

The  petition  for  such  a  district  must  be  initiated  as  petitions  for  local  tax 
elections  are  initiated  under  the  provisions  of  this  article,  must  be  endorsed 
by  the  county  boards  of  education  of  such  contiguous  counties,  and  each 
county  board  of  education  shall  certify  to  the  board  of  county  commis- 
sioners of  its  county  that  the  metes  and  bounds  of  the  proposed  joint  local- 
tax  district  are  in  accordance  with  and  are  an  integral  part  of  the  lawfully 
adopted  county-wide  plan  of  organization  in  so  far  as  they  pertain  to  said 
county. 

11 


The  board  of  commissioners  of  each  county,  in  compliance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  article  relating  to  the  conduct  of  local  tax  elections  shall 
then  call  and  hold  an  election  in  that  portion  of  the  proposed  district  lying 
in  its  county.  Election  returns  shall  be  made  from  each  portion  of  the  pro- 
posed district  to  the  board  of  commissioners  ordering  the  election  in  that 
portion  and  the  returns  canvassed  and  recorded  as  required  in  this  article 
for  local  tax  districts. 

ft.  In  case  the  election  carries  in  each  portion  of  the  proposed  district,  the 
several  county  boards  of  education  concerned  shall  each  pass  a  formal  order 
consolidating  the  territory  into  one  joint  local  tax  district;   which  shall  be 

and  become  a  body  corporate  by  the  name  and  style  of  " Joint 

Local  Tax  School  District  of  Counties."     The  county  board  of 

education  having  the  largest  school  census  and  the  largest  area  in  the  part 
of  the  joint  local  tax  district  lying  in  its  county  shall  determine  the  loca- 
tion of  the  schoolhouse;  but  if  the  largest  census  and  area  do  not  both  lie 
in  the  same  county,  then  the  county  boards  shall  jointly  select  the  site  for 
the  building,  and  in  case  of  a  disagreement  they  shall  submit  the  question 
to  the  board  of  arbitration  consisting  of  three  members,  one  member  to  be 
named  by  each  board-  of  education  if  three  counties  are  concerned,  or  if 
there  are  but  two  counties,  then  each  board  shall  choose  one  member  and 
the  two  so  named  shall  select  a  third  member.  The  decision  of  the  board 
of  arbitration  shall  be  binding  upon  all  county  boards  of  education  con- 
cerned. 

c.  The  school  committee  shall  consist  of  five  members,  three  of  whom  shall 
be  appointed  by  the  board  of  education  of  the  county  in  which  the  building 
is  to  be  situated  and  two  to  be  appointed  by  the  other  county  or  counties, 
but  the  terms  of  office  shall  be  so  arranged  that  not  more  than  two  members 
will  retire  in  any  one  year.  The  committee  shall  officially  exercise  such 
corporate  powers  as  are  conferred  in  this  section.  This  said  committee  shall 
have  all  the  powers  and  duties  of  committees  of  local  tax  districts  and  in 
addition  thereto  it  shall  adopt  a  corporate  seal  and  have  the  power  to  sue 
and  be  sued.  The  committee  shall  have  the  power  to  determine  the  rate  of 
local  taxes  to  be  levied  in  said  joint  district  not  exceeding  the  rate  author- 
ized by  the  voters  of  the  district,  and  when  the  committee  shall  have  so 
determined  the  rate  of  local  taxes  to  be  levied  in  said  joint  district,  and 
shall  have  certified  same  to  the  boards  of  commissioners  of  the  several 
counties  from  which  said  joint  district  is  created,  the  said  boards  of  county 
commissioners,  and  each  of  them,  shall  levy  said  rate  of  local  taxes  within 
the  portion  of  said  joint  district  lying  within  their  respective  counties;  and 
the  taxes  so  levied  shall  be  collected  in  the  several  counties  as  other  taxes 
are  collected  therein,  and  shall  be  paid  over  by  the  officers  collecting  the 
same,  to  the  treasurer  or  other  fiscal  agent  of  the  county  in  which  the  school- 
house  is  located  or  is  to  be  located,  to  be  by  him  placed  to  the  credit  of  the 
joint  district. 

cl.  The  committee  shall  have  as  full  authority  to  call  and  hold  elections 
for  the  voting  of  bonds  of  the  district  as  is  conferred  upon  boards  of  educa- 
tion and  boards  of  commissioners  in  article  twenty-two  of  this  chapter.  In 
calling  the  election  for  a  bond  issue  no  petition  of  the  county  board  of  edu- 
cation shall  be  necessary;  but  the  election  shall  be  called  and  held  by  the 
school  committee  of  the  incorporated  local  tax  school  district  under  as 
ample  authority  as  is  conferred  upon  both  county  boards  of  education  and 

12 


boards  of  commissioners  under  article  twenty-two  of  this  chapter.  When 
bonds  of  the  district  have  been  voted  under  authority  of  this  section,  they 
shall  be  issued  subject  to  the  limitations  of  article  twenty-two  of  this  chap- 
ter in  the  corporate  name  of  the  district,  signed  by  the  chairman  and  secre- 
tary of  the  school  committee,  sold  by  the  school  committee,  and  the  proceeds 
thereof  deposited  with  the  treasurer  of  the  county  board  of  education  of  the 
county  in  which  the  school  building  is  or  is  to  be  located,  to  be  placed  to 
the  credit  of  the  joint  district,  and  the  taxes  for  interest  and  principal  shall 
be  levied  and  collected  as  provided  in  subsection  c  above  for  the  levy  and 
collection  of  local  taxes. 

e.  The  committee  shall  have  the  same  power  to  call  and  hold  elections  to 
ascertain  the  will  of  the  voters  of  the  district  upon  the  question  of  increasing 
the  local  tax  levy  up  to  a  maximum  rate  of  fifty  cents  on  the  one  hundred 
dollars  valuation  of  taxable  property  as  it  has  in  the  case  of  bond  elections. 
But  local  tax  elections  called  and  held  in  such  joint  districts  shall  be  held 
under  the  general  provisions  of  this  article  governing  local  tax  elections 
except  that  the  district  committee  is  hereby  granted  the  powers  of  county 
boards  of  education  and  boards  of  commissioners  as  to  local  tax  elections. 

/.  The  building  of  all  schoolhouses  in  such  joint  local  tax  districts  shall 
be  effected  by  the  county  board  of  education  of  the  county  in  which  the 
building  is  to  be  located  under  authority  of  law  governing  the  erection  of 
school  buildings  by  county  boards  of  education.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  the 
boards  of  education  in  the  other  county  or  counties  to  contribute  to  the 
cost  of  the  building  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children  shown  by  the 
official  census  to  be  resident  within  that  part  of  the  joint  district  lying 
within  each  county  respectively.  If  the  building  is  to  be  erected  from 
moneys  borrowed  from  the  State  building  funds  or  from  county  taxation, 
then  each  county  board  of  education  shall  contribute  to  its  construction  in 
the  proportion  set  out  above  and  pay  over  its  contribution  to  the  treasurer 
of  the  county  board  having  control  of  the  erection  of  the  building:  Provided, 
it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  county  board  that  controls  the  erection  of  the 
building  to  borrow  from  the  State  and  lend  to  the  district  the  full  amount 
of  the  cost  of  the  building  in  cases  where  the  entire  amount  is  to  be  repaid 
by  the  district  from  district  funds. 

g.  All  district  funds  of  a  joint  local  tax  district  shall  be  kept  distinct  from 
all  other  funds,  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  district,  and  expended  as  other 
local  tax  or  district  bond  funds  are  lawfully  disbursed. 

h.  The  county  board  of  education  and  county  superintendent  of  public 
instruction  of  the  county  in  which  the  schoolhouse  is  located  shall  have  as 
full  and  ample  control  over  the  joint  school  and  the  district  as  it  has  in  the 
case  of  other  local  tax  districts,  subject  only  to  the  limitations  of  this 
section. 

i.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  committee  of  the  joint  school  district  to  pre- 
pare a  budget  in  accordance  with  the  law  requiring  budgets  of  special 
charter  districts.  The  said  budget,  which  shall  show  the  proportionate  part 
of  the  cost  of  maintenance  for  six  months  to  be  contributed  by  each  county, 
the  several  parts  to  be  ascertained  on  the  basis  of  the  proportions  of  the 
total  district  school  census  living  in  each  respective  county,  shall  be  filed 
by  the  committee  with  the  county  board  of  education  of  each  county,  and 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  board  if  it  approves  the  district  budget  to  incor- 
porate it  in  the  county  budget  to  be  submitted  to  the  commissioners  in  May 

13 


of  each  year.  Each  of  the  several  county  boards  of  education  is  hereby 
directed  to  pay  over  its  proportionate  part  of  the  district  budget  when  and 
as  collected,  to  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of  education  of  the  county  in 
which  the  school  plant  is  located  for  the  purposes  for  which  it  has  been 
levied  and  collected. 

j.  All  districts  formed  before  the  ratification  of  this  amendment  under 
the  provisions  of  section  two  hundred  and  thirty-two,  chapter  one  hundred 
and  thirty-six,  Public  Laws  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-three, 
and  all  districts  incorporated  before  the  ratification  of  this  amendment, 
under  the  provisions  of  section  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  of  said  chap- 
ter, are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  exercise  all  the  powers  and 
privileges  conferred  by  this  section  as  amended. 

Sec.  2.  All  laws  and  clauses  of  laws  in  conflict  with  this  act  are  hereby 
repealed. 

Sec.  3.  This  act  shall  be  in  full  force  and  effect  from  and  after  its  ratifi- 
cation. 

Ratified  this  the  21st  day  of  August,  1924. 


14 


